TeamIndus & Rahul Narayan’s Lunar Dreams
TeamIndus, founded by Rahul Narayan and a team of engineers, emerged as one of India’s earliest private aerospace ventures with its sights set on the Moon. The team, which included ex-ISRO scientists and young engineers, built a lunar lander from scratch in a country with no private spaceflight ecosystem. The vehicle, later dubbed HHK1, was designed to ride aboard ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). Despite the Google Lunar XPRIZE’s cancellation in 2018, TeamIndus continued lunar ambitions post-contest, repositioning itself as a commercial lunar services company. The company helped create a precedent for Indian startups to build space-grade hardware, navigate policy hurdles, and dream at planetary scales.
- $20 million prize
- Bengaluru
- Commercial lunar services
- Funding
- Google Lunar XPRIZE
- HHK1 (Hum Honge Kamyaab One)
- High-definition images
- Indian space entrepreneurs
- ISRO Collaboration
- Lunar dreams
- Lunar lander
- Lunar technology
- Milestones
- Mission design
- Modular lander platforms
- Nandan Nilekani
- Payload integration
- Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)
- Policy hurdles
- Private aerospace venture
- Private space technology
- Rahul Narayan
- Ratan Tata
- Sachin Bansal
- Scientific instruments
- Space Exploration
- Space-grade hardware
- spacecraft
- TeamIndus
Manastu Space: Clean Propulsion Tech for Sustainable Orbit #2
Manastu Space, a Mumbai-based startup, is focusing on sustainability and cost-efficiency in satellite propulsion. The company replaces toxic hydrazine with a less toxic monopropellant, enhancing safety and fuel efficiency. The company is also developing in-orbit refueling technology, which could revolutionize satellite lifespan and servicing. Manastu Space has secured funding from BIRAC, ISRO, and venture funds and plans to enter full-scale commercial deployment by 2025. The startup aims to become a leading supplier of propulsion modules for small satellite constellations.
- Aerospace testing
- Ashtesh Kumar
- BIRAC funding
- Clean propulsion
- Commercial satellites
- Deorbiting maneuvers
- Fuel efficiency
- Green propulsion
- Hydrazine alternative
- IIT Bombay
- In-orbit refueling
- ISRO Collaboration
- Low-Earth orbit
- Manastu Space
- Monopropellant
- NewSpace startups.
- Propulsion modules
- Satellite Servicing
- Satellite technology
- Small satellite constellations
- Space debris
- Specific impulse
- Station-keeping
- Sustainable orbit
- Tushar Jadhav
Bellatrix Aerospace: Powering the Future of Space Mobility
Bellatrix Aerospace, a Bengaluru-based company founded by Rohan Ganapathy, Nuthan Prasanna, and Yashas Karanam, is revolutionizing in-space propulsion and mobility. The company focuses on electric propulsion systems, which offer higher fuel efficiency and longer operational life. Bellatrix has developed various propulsion systems, including microwave plasma thrusters, Hall-effect thrusters, Green chemical propulsion systems, and CubeSat propulsion modules. One of its most ambitious visions is the space taxi, a maneuverable orbital vehicle designed to transport satellites or payloads between different orbits. The company has successfully tested and launched two propulsion systems, Arka and Rudra, on ISRO’s PSLV C-58 rocket. Bellatrix is committed to indigenously developed technology and has collaborated with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and attracted investor interest for its commercially viable and environmentally sustainable propulsion systems. The company is expected to serve satellite manufacturers, space agencies, and play a pivotal role in orbital logistics, space debris mitigation, and interplanetary missions.
- Arka Propulsion System
- Bellatrix Aerospace
- Chetak Launch Vehicle
- CubeSat Propulsion
- Efficient Propulsion Systems
- Electric Propulsion
- Future Space Economy.
- Green Chemical Propulsion
- Hall-Effect Thrusters
- In-Space Propulsion
- India
- Indian Institute of Science (IISc)
- Indigenously Developed Technology
- ISRO Collaboration
- Key Milestones
- Microwave Plasma Thruster
- Nuthan Prasanna
- Orbital Logistics
- Payload Transport
- Private Participation in Space
- Pushpak Orbital Transfer Vehicle
- Rohan Ganapathy
- Rudra Propulsion System
- Satellite Thrusters
- Series A Funding
- Space Mobility
- Space Taxi Concept
- Space Taxis
- US Market Expansion
- Yashas Karanam